Like The Swirling Motion
by Ominousmagic
Summary: "The best thing about hot cocoa: It always comes with a story." AU. This is pure fluff that will hopefully leave you with a smile on your face that will make your friends look at you like WTF?


**A/N: Thhs little one shot came into my head and I was like "What the heck, these people don't really know who you are, your picture is the freaking Aflac duck for the love of Castle". **

**AU…I think…but maybe…uh no, I am pretty darn sure.**

**Disclaimer- I write fanfiction, don't I? So obviously I don't own Castle.**

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><p><strong>"Like the Swirling Motion"<strong>

It is easy to recognize a good cup of hot chocolate. The steam that undulates through the first inch of air after the ceramic ends, the bubbles that begin to form at the surface after being mixed around, and the superfluous amount of white marshmallows that dance while you hold it in your hands, letting the mug warm you serenely.

The best thing about hot cocoa: it always comes with a story.

For many, the story involves snow or nippy early mornings and the sound of laughter. The memories of putting on dry gloves that soon will have little flakes of snow attached and that will become damp are looked forward to. The bright red noses of the vivacious children and adults running through the snow and making snowmen are also fondly thought of.

These are the thoughts that have been filtering through Kate's mind. They made her smile.

She let go of her grasp around the soft curtains that surrounded the window, letting her view become the supple red color that they were. It was early, on a Saturday, but surely Rick would want to see this.

She hopped off of the window seat and made her way out of Rick's office; or should she say "her secret hideaway".

It didn't take her long after they got married to realize why Rick liked writing in his office so much. It was full of inspiration and lacked reality.

After one last glance of the room, she started her way towards their bedroom. As she walked, her attention was brought to the full body mirror that extended to the end of the hallway. She paused and looked at her reflection.

She looked happy. The bags under her eyes were there, no doubt, but were minimized. Her bed head hair was still in the loose pony tail she had put in earlier. The end of her hair landed at the back of her loose fitted red tee-shirt. As her eyes travelled down, they locked when they got to her baggy pajama shorts that she only wore during the holidays. They were of a moss green color and had white loops going vertically down the sides. At the sight of them, she was reminded of her childhood. She moved away from the glass and bent down near Castle's head. Absented mindedly, she began running her fingers through his hair while trying to wake him.

It took a few minutes, but he finally began to stir.

"Kate, what are you doing up so early?" His words were slurred as he blinked a few times to get rid of any sleep he had left.

She chuckled, "How do you know if it is early or not? You haven't looked at a clock yet. For all you know, it could be noon."

He stretched and looked up at Kate, "I guess I'm just a ninja like that," he glanced at the clock that read '5:30', "See, it is early, Love."

Her heart fluttered…but just a little bit.

She ran to the window to make sure it was still snowing. When she saw that it was, she went back to Castle's side of the bed where she was met by his perplexed expression.

"Come on, I want to show you something." She grabbed his hand in hers and almost yanked him out of bed.

"Whoa, Kate, what is it?" They were in his office now.

Once inside, she pinned the red curtains back, revealing the amazing view of part of New York City covered in a white blanket of snow. Outside of the building and on top of roofs, there were snowmen of all shapes and sizes.

He squeaked. "Kate, this is so cool," his eyes widened, "I'll get some hot chocolate!" He started his way towards the door but was stopped when he felt a hand on his bicep pull him back.

"No! Uh, I mean we have to get cold first?"

He raised his eyebrow.

"Well, isn't it better to get cold and then warm up by the hot chocolate?" She was beginning to feel foolish and felt the heat rise up to her cheeks. But instead of another questionable look, a huge grin covered the writer's face

"Red or blue gloves?" He was now practically jumping where he stood.

She smiled slyly, "One of each."

His smile dropped and was replaced by a seductive grin, "oh, a detective who plays dirty. I like it."

Kate rolled her eyes, "go get the gloves, Rick."

He nodded and zoomed out of the room.

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><p>"Hey, Castle." Beckett called out from behind her fort that protected her from the rapidly flying snowballs that came from behind Castle's 'castle', as he insisted on calling it.<p>

"Yes?" He replied as he let the top of his head peek out from his fort.

"I'm gonna win."

"Mmmh, and why do you sound so sure about that, detective?"

"Because throwing a snowball takes as much skill as aiming a gun and we both know who has a better aim."

"Well that may be true but don't forget you also taught me how to shoot a gun," he paused, "and you are a very good teacher."

"Okay mister I'm going to end up making a fool out of myself, let's see how much you can take without begging for mercy."

She could hear him grinning as he spoke, "It is so on, Mrs. Castle."

Before she could say a reply, a white ball of snow went flying towards her and she ducked, making the snowball hit the brick wall in back of her.

"Hey!" She yelled as she quickly began forming her own pile of ammo. "You were distracting me!"

"All is fair in love and war detec-." His sentence was cut off by the force of a round sphere of ice that hit him right in the arm. He could hear her laughing and decided he needed to retaliate. Fast.

So the war began.

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><p>Their war lasted until neither of them could feel their hands or feet and with finishing the last touches on their snowman, they headed inside.<p>

"Kate, I don't even remember having that much fun in the snow since Alexis went off to college." He made his way into the kitchen to grab two coffee cups.

Kate followed him and grabbed the bag of marshmallows and Ovaltine and set them on the counter. While Rick grabbed the pot and milk on the stove, she went up from behind him and snaked her arms around his waist.

"Me, too."

He turned his head over his shoulder and kissed her temple.

"You want to go put the fireplace on, Kate?" Castle whispered in her ear.

She left his side and went to flip the switch on the electric fireplace. She took the blanket that hung off the side of the coach and brought it to the fireplace to warm it up.

It took a few minutes, but the blanket was now considerably toasty and Rick came from behind the couch balancing two mugs with a bag of marshmallows dangling from his mouth. He looked silly but absolutely adorable, Kate thought. He attempted to talk but when he realized his words were muffled, he spit the bag down on the coffee table and tried again.

"One very hot chocolate for you, my dear," he handed her the mug, "with," he paused while he grabbed the marshmallows from the table top, "marshmallows separately, since I know you like to put them in yourself." She smiled and accepted the bag and he mumbled under his breath, "Stubborn women." She shot him a look but he managed to look innocent.

He began collecting his selected marshmallows, when he glanced over at Kate to find her brows furrowed, staring into the dark brown liquid. Her eyes were set on the swirling motion of the liquid from her spoon's earlier actions, but he could tell she was looking right past the cup and into whatever memory she was caught up in.

"Kate?"

Nothing.

"Katester?"

Still nothing; but if she heard him, he would be in deep trouble.

"Kate mate?"

Okay this was serious. Did he want to hear what was wrong? Of course he did; what was he saying? When he said he would always be there for her and always have her back, he meant it. He signed it in blood when he said "I do".

He began running his fingers through her hair, gently caressing her cheek with his thumb. "Kate?" He asked again; but this time he got a response. She turned her head slowly towards him and looked up. "Are you okay?"

She nodded but when her eyes caught his, she bit her bottom lip and smiled a genuine smile. "I know you're the writer Rick, but could I tell you a story?""

"But of course you can." His eyes never left hers.

"It's non-fiction."

His lips curled up. It was a story from her past and she was going to do him the honor of sharing it with him.

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><p>"<em>Katie, I know it's winter break but if you don't wake up now you might never get to sleep again…and your pancakes will get cold". At the mention of pancakes, Kate nearly jumped out of bed, making her mom chuckle. "Oh teenagers," she added as she left Kate to get ready. <em>

_After throwing on her favorite pair of navy blue sweatpants and a white, long sleeved tee-shirt, she pranced around the corner of the hallway only to be overwhelmed with the smell of pancakes and bacon. Her dad was humming (some song from his time) while flipping the cakes, and her mom was sitting at the counter reading the newspaper. _

"_Hey! You said the pancakes were getting cold; they aren't even ready yet!"_

_Johanna smiled at her daughter, "guilty as charged, I just wanted to have someone else to keep me company besides your dad," she leaned in closer, "he keeps telling me stories about his 'rebel years'." _

_Jim turned around, pancake on his spatula. _

"_Hey!"_

_Kate made a face, "Now dad, I'm sorry but I just can't picture you as a rebel." Suddenly, all sorts of pictures of her dad wearing basketball shorts and sneaking out of school to go do something that she didn't want to think about filled her head. She shook them out as soon as they entered. Well…tried to at least. _

"_I'll have you know, Katie, that those were the best years of my life! You should have seen how many girls wanted to-"_ _he stopped when he received a glare from Johanna._

"_Okay, EW Dad really, just…EW." She walked around the counter, grabbing the plate that was already set for her, and made her way to the stove. "I am really hungry and you're making me lose my appetite." After grabbing a few pancakes, she made her way to her seat and began fixing them up._

"_Sorry Katie bug, you look so old, I forget you're only 16 sometimes."_

_She froze mid bite, "Hey, I'm not old! You're old!"_

_Her parents laughed and began making their plates as well. _

_It took until they were about halfway done with their breakfast until Kate's eyes lit up. "Hey…oh shi-" she caught herself, "shiz-balls, I forgot to check if it was snowing! Eh, I'm so stupid!" she made her way off of the barstool, letting her feet make a loud "bang" as she made her way over to the window. She lifted the curtain and was met with a bright white blanket. _

_She screeched, "It's snowing! Can we go out? Please Mom, I'll love you forever."_

_Johanna laughed and nodded, "On one condition, you wear gloves this time, you stubborn lady." A flashback of last winter caught her attention. She had refused to wear gloves because they 'messed up her aim', and almost ended up with frostbite. _

_She nodded and bit down on her lower lip. She never was able to remember what attracted her to the snow so much, but it was her weakness. If it was snowing, her mood was always lifted._

Maybe it was because with the white blanket of snow covering the dirty grounds of the world, it would appear more innocent. Less used, and more…new.

Everything from the past was forgotten for the snow was new.

But of course this wasn't the reason that drew her to it 17 years ago, but at least for now she knew of one that she could explain; not that anyone has ever asked though.

"_Mom, how did you even come up with this idea?" Kate asked, unable to hide the laughter that was building up from inside of her. _

_Johanna squeezed the last of the food coloring down from the bottle on top of the snowman's head, watching it leave its vestige of color as it slid down its face, mixing with the other compatible colors._

"_Well, when I was in college I was broke like many other college students and there was a contest that said if you could create the most creative art 'masterpiece'," she put quotes around masterpiece, "you would receive 50 dollars. So I was messing around with different stuff and somehow I came about this, and about two weeks later I had color stained fingers and a pantry full of food." She chuckled. _

_Kate traced the pattern of colors with her glove covered hand, "it's really pretty."_

_Johanna hummed in response. _

_They returned inside of the building, where Johanna turned to Kate to see her shivering. _

"_You know what the best cure for the frosty weather is, Katie?_

_Kate smiled, letting the big grin cover her flushed face, "of course."_

"_Hot cocoa." They chorused together. _

_She settled on the couch next to her mother and father and took a big sip of the warm liquid, letting the marshmallows tickle her nose as she drank. She could feel the liquid spread from her throat down her arms and legs, and through her core. It was enticing. She looked up and saw her parents staring down at her. She blushed at the thought that her parents just saw her thinking way too much of a drink, as if she was almost dependant on its warmth. She laughed at her apparent need for a drink. Who needs a drink this much? But then again, it really wasn't the drink that filled her body with warmth, love. It was that of course, but it was also the simple gesture from her parents_.

They supplied her with something that they knew made her happy. That showed just how much they cared and loved for her.

Like kindergarteners sharing their juice boxes.

Like hikers sharing water.

Like partners sharing coffee_. _

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><p>She looked up from her mug, expecting to feel tears streaming down her cheeks at the memory, but there were none. All that was there was the smile that made her crow's feet visible.<p>

Rick's face looked almost identical to hers. He reached out and took her hand in his and squeezed it gently.

She squeezed back, "I really wish you could have met her Rick, she was amazing."

"In a way I did." He looked up and saw the confused look on Kate's face and decided to continue. "The way you talk about her, the home videos that you showed me, pictures. Most of all Kate, she is a part of you and you are a part of her."

Now Kate felt them; the tears. There was an onslaught of them rolling down her face. She laughed at their timing. It was impeccable.

"God Rick, I love you."

He smiled, "I love you."

"Why don't you just say 'I love you too'?"

He shrugged, "to me, 'I love you' needs to stand by its self. I guess it is just the writer in me."

She smiled back at him, "Yeah, well I'm a cop so, I love you too."

They both laughed at their déjà vu moment and began drinking the rest of their delicious story-worthy drinks.

Kate paused from taking another sip of the hot chocolate after replaying the events from the last few hours.

She looked at Rick who was looking right back at her.

"Hey, did you call me 'Katester'?"

"No."

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><p><strong>AN: Please tell me what you think! I mean really, because if this is complete junk, I'm going to take it down (with wounded-ness). **

**If there are any mistakes, please tell me so I can fix them. No one besides me edits them because my mom says, and I quote, "Jeez Mads, I don't know how much more of this Castle, Kate, Love, will they won't they crap I can take." Yes, we are currently not speaking. **


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